Quickening
by thewulf-aloha4ever
Summary: Spec fic for 5.21. Killian's PoV after he remains behind in the Underworld.
Killian walked towards the elevator, a grim smile on his lips. He had found the lost pages of Hades's story amongst the god's personal effects. A quick glance had revealed some startling information that could well prove invaluable in defeating Hades. Killian would find a way to get the information to Emma; perhaps make Cruella get that talking phone booth back up and working. He would help correct the wrong Liam had done. Killian sighed and half-smiled as he thought of his brother. Perhaps he would see Liam again soon. He had promised Emma that he would not make her his unfinished business. He had never been able to move on from anything before. Maybe he would finally learn how to move on… after he made sure Emma took Hades down.

As Killian passed by the pedestal with the scales where he and Emma had passed the test of True Love, he was surprised to see lights flickering through the open doors of the Garden beyond. He hesitated, and then stepped forward and into the Garden.

The flickering light was coming from the cut-down stump of the Tree of Ambrosia. Tiny shoots were sprouting from between cracks in the tree stump. Branches lengthened and filled with leaves. Beautiful golden flowers budded and blossomed, and butterflies fluttered in to partake of the divine nectar.

As Killian watched fascinated, petals started falling off the flowers, and fluttered down in beautiful golden spirals. The flowers ripened into golden fruit.

Ambrosia. By some unforeseen miracle, the Tree had revived and produced its sacred fruit. Killian's heart stuttered.

There was a sudden flash of lightning followed by a giant thunderclap. Killian instinctively closed his eyes. When he opened them, he saw a man standing in front of him with an air of great authority, and looking incredibly alive and youthful.

Killian raised his brow, but said nothing.

The stranger gave him a huge smile. A hidden joy seemed to bring sparkle to his eyes. "Are you not going to ask who I am?"

"I think I can make a guess. Zeus, I presume?"

Zeus smiled again, and inclined his head in acquiescence. He gave a quick glance at tree bearing Ambrosia. "I came to see who had managed to bring the Ambrosial tree back to life."

"It was my Love—Emma's doing," said Killian, a hint of humble pride in his voice.

"Indeed! And how did she accomplish the task?"

"She placed her heart on the Scales outside this chamber and passed the test of True Love."

"Her act of True Love may have got you inside the sacred garden," said Zeus. "But the tree is a different proposition altogether. My brother, Hades, destroyed it millennia ago after two mortals, Orpheus and Eurydice, used it to escape the Underworld. Only another act of True Love could have healed the tree so it could produce the Ambrosial fruit." Zeus looked at Killian pointedly.

"In case you haven't noticed mate, I'm super-dead. I couldn't exactly take my heart out and place in on the Scales for a True Love test."

"Where is this Emma? The one whose heart proved worthy to open the Doors to the Garden?"

Killian's eyes dropped to the ground. "She's gone back to the Upper World."

"She left you behind?"

Killian's temper flared up. "Your brother had destroyed the Ambrosia. I couldn't go with her. So, I made her leave. Otherwise, she would have missed the portal back to her world."

Zeus gave him a piercing look. "I rather fancy that your choice in sending your beloved away to safety while you stayed behind was the act of True Love that revived the trees."

A wild hope flooded Killian's heart as Zeus's words sunk in. Did this mean…?

"Yes," said Zeus, as though reading his thoughts (which he likely was). "If you so desire, you may partake of the Divine Fruit and get back to Land of the Living."

Killian peered suspiciously at the unruffled god standing in front of him. "So, _you_ have no issues with me leaving the ranks of the dead? That's a completely different tune from what Hades sang."

Zeus smiled benignly. "Though you did not intend it, you have done a great service to all the gods of Olympus. Ambrosia only grows in this Garden—it is fuelled by the powers of Love and Eternity, which are strongest in the depths of the Underworld. As long as Hades was the ruler, even _I_ could not enter this realm and gain access to the Garden. Thanks to you and your beloved, and the True Love you bear for each other, I can now take Ambrosia back to Olympus. So, yes, you have earned the right to partake of the Food of the gods, and I am not here to stop you."

Killian felt unspeakable joy at the words. Was he finally going to be reunited with Emma, after all their travails?!

Zeus waved a hand toward the tree. "Feel free." He added a warning, "Do not attempt to pluck more than one of the fruits,—the Tree does not suffer greed."

Killian tucked the storybook pages into his belt and stepped up to the Tree. He plucked a golden fruit from an overhanging bough. The fruit was warm to the touch, and he felt a pleasant vibration thrum through his palm as he held it.

"Go ahead and take a bite," said Zeus. "You will be back in the Land of the Living."

Killian brought the fruit to his lips, and then hesitated. "I… have a favor to ask."

Zeus raised his brow.

"There are people I care about who were cast in the River of Souls by Hades. Can you release them?"

"I'm afraid I cannot do that."

"Why not? You're the king of the gods, aren't you?"

"Yes. But I do not have authority over the fate of Souls in this Realm. This, as I said, is the dominion of Hades."

Killian felt a stab of anger. "Then those Souls are to be unjustly condemned forever? There must be someone who can help them!"

Zeus hesitated for a moment. "There _is_ someone who can help them. You."

"Me?!"

"The Ambrosia will be able to free the Souls trapped in the River. But if you use the Ambrosia for this purpose…"

"…I will not be able to use it for myself."

"I am sorry."

Killian's face fell. He at last had a real chance to escape the Underworld and go back to Emma and have a life and future with her. But that would come at the cost of condemning his former love, Milah, for eternity as a mindless husk, not to mention the countless other innocent souls trapped by Hades. Killian could not—he _would_ _not_ do that. He had been unable to save Milah from death twice. He would not squander away this final chance to ensure her eternal rest.

Hardening his expression, Killian said. "Then, I know what I must do." He stepped out of the Garden and walked to bank of the River of Souls. As he held the Ambrosia in his hand over the waters, Killian's heart broke all over again as his hope for a future with Emma was stripped away from him for the third time within the span of a single day.

"Now crush the fruit, and let its juice drop into the water," instructed Zeus.

Taking a deep breath, Killian did as bade, and crushed the Ambrosia with his hand. The juicy pulp flowed through his clasped hand and dripped into the waters below. As soon as the juice touched the River, a glowing swirling vortex opened in the water. Killian stepped back quickly to prevent himself from being sucked in. Zeus stepped forward and stood beside Killian, and the two of them watched as the swirling vortex rose to form a giant column of water from which flashes of light emanated at frequent intervals. Gradually, Souls started rising from the waters below, passed through the column, and disappeared as they neared the top.

"What is happening to them?" asked Killian, a little apprehensive. He hoped he had not condemned Milah to a worse fate in the name of rescuing her.

"Do not fear. The Souls are going to the place of Judgment. Those that have satisfactorily taken care of their unfinished business will be able to move on to their place of eternal rest. The others… perhaps, we had better not speak of them."

Killian heaved a sigh of relief. From what Emma had told him of her meeting with Milah, he knew the latter would be alright. In their time together, the one thing Milah had never been able to reconcile was the fact that she had left her son Baelfire behind. Now she would finally be reunited with her son and find her peace in the afterlife.

Eventually, the stream of ascending Souls slowed and finally stopped. The column dissolved in a burst of bright pulsing light and disappeared. Killian peered into the waters of the River of Souls and found that it was now devoid of said Souls. Mingled with relief at having freed the souls trapped in the River, Killian felt a heaviness weighing down his spirit. It appeared to be his fate to always be parted from the people he loved the most—whether in life or in death.

"You sacrificed your chance at Life in order to free the Souls of the dead," stated Zeus.

"Just another day in the life—or death—of a hero," said Killian half-annoyed, half-sardonic. "Well, mate. If there is nothing else, I need to help Emma take down your brother Hades."

"How did you intend to do that?"

Killian elaborated his plan on getting the information from the storybook pages to Emma via the talking phone.

"Your idea for passing the information to your Love is ingenious, but perhaps I can offer you a better option. You could take the pages of the storybook to Emma yourself," said Zeus, and held out a hand.

Killian gaped at him. For in his hand, the king of the gods held a fruit of Ambrosia.

"You could not pluck another fruit from the Tree. But I could," he elaborated with a smile.

For once, Killian was speechless. He held out a trembling hand and took the offered fruit.

Zeus looked at him encouragingly. "You are very much a hero, Killian Jones. Now go, and don't waste this second chance at life."

"Thank you," said Killian. His eyes sparkling, he bit down on the fruit.

The next instant, Killian was blinking his eyes against bright sunlight. He slowly opened his eyes and peered through his lashes. He appeared to be in the Storybrooke cemetery. Considering he was wearing the clothes he had died in, he must have come to life right over the place they had buried him, which made sense in a macabre kind of way.

He spied a figure clad in black standing hunched a little ways ahead of him. Killian gasped when he recognized that it was Emma. He immediately ran up to her but stopped short a few feet behind, not wanting to startle her. She appeared to be sobbing.

"Emma," he called out softly.

She turned around and looked at him. Incomprehension melted into disbelief, then fear, as she stared.

"Emma, it is I," said Killian, slowly walking forward and coming to stand right in front of her.

Emma stretched out a hand slowly and touched his cheek. He tilted his face to her touch.

"Killian," whispered Emma. "Is it really you?"

He nodded, unable to speak. A single tear trickled down his cheek, this time, in happiness. Emma sucked in a sharp breath.

The next instant, they were in each other's arms, squeezing and holding the other as close as possible. " _Emma, Emma, Emma_ …" Killian kept repeating her name as he rained kisses all over Emma's face. She then took his face in her hands and kissed him soundly and repeatedly on the lips.

"Don't you dare leave me again," said Emma, smiling through the tears streaming down her face.

"I told you Swan, I'm a survivor," replied Killian happily, as he held the love of his life within the circle of his devoted arms.

 _Finis_.


End file.
